Lewis-McChord soldier killed in Afghanistan

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — A 21-year-old soldier based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma has been killed in an attack in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense said Monday that Spc. Vilmar Galarza Hernandez, of Salinas, Calif., died Saturday in the Kandahar province when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Hernandez was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division at Lewis-McChord south of Seattle. The base did not immediately have additional information about Hernandez on Monday.